Loom and vibration control therefor



Jan. 16, 1940. N. A. BATCHELDER LOO) AND VIBRATION CONTROL THEREFOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed, March 19. 1938 Ia/228711130 Misfon c'tZBaicZwgZdazy 15 10 0%, MW, :9 W &9 V (Hf/figs.

Jan. 16, 1940- N. A. BATCHELDER LOOK AND VIBRATION CONTROL THEREFOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Min WW my s.

Patented Jan. 16, 1940 Q i UNITED STATES PATENT LOOM AND VIBRATION CONTROL THEREFOR Nelson A. Batchelder/West Harrington, R. I., as-

signor to Woods Manufacturing Company, Limited, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, a corporation of Canada Application March 19, 1938, Serial No. 196,933 6 Claims. (Cl. 248-21) My present invention relates to looms, and aims of such governor mechanism, as the particular to improve their general operation, at higher circumstances and conditions for the given inspeeds. or with less breakage, by directing and installation may determine. And while the controlling the various forces which have heretopresent invention is especially applicable to the fore had an outlet only by way of wracking and increasing of loom speeds in any instance where 5 excessive vibration of the whole loom frame and the attendant vibratory effects would make such the underlying flooring. increase unprofitable or dangerous, it is also In the drawings illustrating one embodiment useful in providing for a more ellicient and of the invention by way of example, economical operation of substantially any power m Fig. l is a side or end view of a loom having loom. the means of the invention incorporated with The causes of the excessive shock and vibration it, and illustrating especially the lay and picking inherent in the operation of a loom, and the motions and their particular operative relation to manner in which they are to a large extent dissaid means; sipated in accordance with my invention will i 5 Fig. 2 is a horizontal section as on the line 2--2 readily be understood from a consideration of Fig.

of Fig. 1, on a larger scale, showing the loom 1. Referring to the latter, the right loom side or shock-absorbing and buffer mechanism or unit at frame is indicated at"! and its front and rear the right front portion of the loom; supporting feet at 2 and 3. At the front of the Fig. 3 is a side elevation of said loom parts of loom is the usual breast beam 4 and at the rear 00 Fig. 2; are the bearings 5 for the warp beam, not shown. Fig. 4 shows the same as viewed from the left in As customary, the lay 6 is mounted to swing Figs. 2 and 3, with portions in section; forwardly and back with the lay swords 1 on the Fig. 5 is a similar view but looking from the rock shaft 8, seen at the lower left corner portion right; and of Fig. 1, well toward the front of the loom. The

3 Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section as on the line lay is operated in the usual manner by the crank 6-45 of Fig. 2, with portions in side elevation. shaft 9 having cranks ll] connected to the lay The speed at which looms may be economically through pitman arms I l. operated has heretofore been limited to a large The lay is shown in full lines in Fig. l in its extent by the resulting shock and vibration forward or beating up position, and in dotted O affecting the various loom parts and the flooring lines in its rear or back center position approxion which the loom is located. Qonsiderable relief mately as during the delivery of the shuttle in this respect may be had by the use of governor across it. The vigorous swinging of the lay means such as disclosed and claimed in a copendbetween these two positions is an unbalanced ing application, whereby the unbalanced motions action involving considerable shock and vioof a loom are smoothed out to a marked extent. lence, particularly in the beating up of the weft For installations where the looms are rigidly supinto the fell of the goods as the lay comes to ported, as on a ground floor or one adequately its extreme forward position. The center about braced and reinforced, looms so equipped may be which this movement takes place, namely the axis speeded up without introducing further problems of the rock shaft 8, is far offsetv from the center of of vibration effects. In other instances, however, gravity of a loom as a whole. Hence the swingo particularly in older mills and at locations above ing movements of the lay have not only a fore the ground floor, maintained loom speeds much and aft component tending to displace the loom above 150 picks per minute are found impracin the direction from front to rear but also have tical, as the attendant increased frame and floor a substantial vertical component tending to rock vibration tends to offset the advantages gained or tilt the loom relative to the flooring or to 45 from the higher speed of operation. move the latter vertically with the loom.

My present invention provides means for coun- Other shock and vibration effects come from teracting objectionable vibratory effects in loom the violent picking action by which the shuttle is operation, whether at ordinary or abnormally thrown back and forth across the lay. Referm high speeds, serving in any case to decrease proring still to Fig. 1, the right picker stick is seen duction costs by reducing the breakage of parts. at l2. It is mounted in the usual way so as to Such means. as above indicated, may be employed swing with the lay about the rock shaft 8 and is in combination with my loom governor mechapivoted at its lower end so that it may be thrown nism further to increase the field of usefulness or picked lengthwise the lay. This picking acof the latter, or alternatively to or independently tion is effected from the cam shaft l3 on which 5 of the loom. The steep pick point l5 of the respective pick cam engages at each revolution of the cam shaft with the pick ball I6 on the rocking picker shaft I! connected through the pick arm l8 and sweep stick l9 to the lower portion of the picker stick l2, by means of the lug strap I9a. It will be noted that the sharp pick point |5 strikes its pick ball with substantially a hammer blow, by reason of which and the large leverage involved in the several parts the picker stick is thrown with sufllcient force to project the shuttle across the lay. This action, taking place alternately at the two sides of the loom, tends to skew or kick first one side of the loom and then the other side out of position. There is also a substantial upwardly thrusting component involved in the engagement of the pick point with the pick balLtending to lift the loom bodily or to raise the flooring with it.

In accordance with my invention these several forces and their various components are in effect resolved and caused to act in a single direction, fore and aft of the loom, by permitting the loom to have a bodily movement in said direction, in the course of which the various otherwise conflicting forces are so directed and controlled that they may be absorbed and dissipated, rather than going to the production of the objectionable vibratory and shock effects on the loom parts and the supporting flooring. The invention accordingly contemplates means whereby the entire loomv may have a directed foreand-aft movement, against a controlled resistance, in the performance of which movement the otherwise restrained forces which ordinarily produce the objectionable wracking and vibratory effects, are given a free outlet and are expended and absorbed in a non-harmful manner.

Such means as herein illustrated comprises shock-absorber and buffer mechanism incorporated with locim-supporting track devices structurally combined with and interposed between the loom frames and the flooring, said mechanism including a plurality of similar units symmetrically arranged at the two sides of the loom. The vfront and rear units for the right side of the loom, associated with the feet portions 2 and 3 of the frame, are seen in Fig. 1, the other side of the loom being similarly equipped.

In Figs. 2 to 6 the .unit for the right front foot portion 2 of the loom is shown in detail, as typical of the others. The frame foot has integrally or otherwise rigidly secured to it a slide or shoe 20, as by means of stud bolts 2| extending through the loom foot and into the shoe. The latter comprises a plate having flat running surfaces 22 along its under longitudinal side portions. and a depending intermediate rib 23 of dovetailed section. This rib is received in a co respondingly shaped way formed between parallel rails 24 on the upper face of an underlying fixed base or track plate 25. The inner opposed faces of the rails 24 are undercut or bevelled as indicated at 26, 26 for cooperation with the dovetailed rib 23 on the movable shoe 20. Hence the described construction not only provides for straight-line guided movement of the shoe on the base plate but also prevents relative vertical movement between these two main parts. The track plate or base 25 is adapted to be firmly secured to the flooring by bolts or the like 21, Fig. 1, passing through toes 28, one at each corner portion of the base plate in the illustrated example.

2,187,510 are mounted the pick cams I4, one for each side The track plate 25 and the shoe 20 desirably have formed at a central portion of their posed faces oppositely disposed recesses 29 and 30, see particularly Fig. 4, together providing a chamber or reservoir for grease or other lubricant. Distributing channels 3|, which may be drilled or formed as grooves in the bearing faces either of the track plate or of the shoe, or both, serve to conduct the lubricant to the various bearing portions, whereby all contacting faces of these two main members are assured of adequate lubrication, facilitating the guided movement of the shoe relative to the track plate. Lubricant is supplied through a filling channel 32 communicating with the grease chamber 29. 30 and having a closure plug 33. This chamber or reservoir is adapted to contain sufficient lubricant for long periods of operation, assuring continuous smooth operation of the parts with but infrequent attention.

The movement of the loom and the series of shoes 20 relative to their respective track plates 25 is adjustably controlled and limited by buffering and shock-absorbing mechanism illustrated as of a compound character. On each shoe 2!] is a side lug or laterally projecting abutment piece 40. This piece is arranged to face a similar abutment piece or side lug 4| on the corresponding track plate 25.

Between this pair of abutment pieces 40, 4| of each unit is a heavy compression spring 42 of the coil type. One of said abutment pieces, herein the element 40 on the movable shoe, has a boss 43 receivable in and positioning the ad jacent end of the spring 42. At its other end the spring is seated and positioned by a corresponding boss 44 on a seating disk or member 45 which is adjustable relative to the adjacent abutment element 4|, on the fixed track plate 25. Said fixed abutment piece 4| has threaded centrally through it an adjusting screw 46 having a rounded inner end 41 received in a corresponding recess in the outer face-of the spring seat 45. A locking nut 48 assists in holding the adjusting screw 46 and spring seat 45 in adjusted position, thereby accurately to regulate the normal compression of the spring 42. The parts are assembled and adjusted so that the spring 42 is under an initial compression adequate to keep the spring and associated parts in seated position.

Additional means is provided in operative combination with the compression spring for cushioning and limiting the extent of approach of the movable abutments 40 on the loom toward the fixed abutments 4| on the base plates secured to the flooring. For this purpose I have herein provided in each unit a pair of substantially hemispherical oppositely disposed buffer elements 50, 5| formed of rubber or other distortable resilient material. These members 50, 5| have their flat diametral faces oppositely adjacent each other in opposed recesses or cups in a sleeve-like holder element 52 loosely received and positioned within the coil spring 42.

Referring again to Fig. 1 it will be noted that the fixed member of the pair of opposed abutment elements 40, 4|, in this instance the element 4| which carries the adjusting screw 46, is disposed in the forward position in the shockabsorbing or buffer assembly units located at the front of the loom, as in conjunction with the right front loom foot 2 of Fig. 1, so that it opposes and limits the forward motion of the loom. The same. is true for the unit in front position at the other side of the loom, the shoes and base plates being constructed as rights and lefts, that is, with the abutment pieces in one instance projecting to the right and in the other case projecting to the left. Similarly, the absorber units which are disposed at the rear of the loom, such as in connection with the rear foot 3 of Fig. l, have the fixed abutment element 4| in rear position, to oppose and limit the loom movement in the rearward direction. It will be obvious that a right hand unit, such as appropriate fdr example for the position at the front right font 2 of the loom is also suitable for the rear leftfoot of the loom, by reversing the unit end to end. A series of four such units in opposed pairs at the two sides of the loom have been found adequate for most installations but one or more additional units or pairs of units may be provided if desired, the base plates which are secured to the floor being common to a plurality of shoe members slidable thereon or being separately formed for each shoe, as may be more convenient.

The various stresses and strains accompanying the operation of a power loom and transmitting their effects to the loom sides and through them to the flooring have been referred to in the opening portion of the specification and will be readily to those familiar with the weaving art. The essential motions of the loom parts while regularly timed in their action are unbalanced and irregular in their resultant effects on the loom frame. As the lay surges forward it tends to throw the entire loom forward and to lift the back feet of the loom. In its return it has the reverse tendency not only to shift the loom rearward but alsoto throw the rear feet down. Before the lay reaches the end of its back swing the picking mechanism works at one side of the loom, with a further tendency to throw the loom back as well as producing a skewing or laterally disturbing effect. This picking action and its effect on the loom frame may be compared with the action of rowing a boat wherein the rower pulls first a full stroke on one oar and then on the other one, with the effect of throwing the boat out of line on each stroke, first to the right and then to the left. And the total effect of the powered actions in a loom may by similar analogy be likened to two oarsmen in tandem, one pulling his two oars alternately, representing the picking motion,as just referred to, and the other pulling a regular stroke with his two cars simultaneously, representing the action of the lay beam. Where, as in a loom, such unbalanced forces are attempted to be harnessed and restrained within a frame fixed to the supporting flooring, excessive vibratory and wracking effects are inevitable, especially at higher operating speeds.

The mechanism such as herein illustrated and described, by permitting the loom frame to move bodily, resolves and reduces the total effect of these unbalanced movements to a single straightline fore and aft movement which is accurately aligned and guided both in the horizontal and in the vertical planes, through the medium of the track and slide formations described. The energy otherwise going to produce objectionable vibration of the whole loom is thus given a controlled outlet so that it is harmlessly expended, the greater portion of it being taken up in the compression of the absorber springs while any remaining or final portion is absorbed and dissipated by the buffering action of the distortable hemispherical elements. The shape of these latter is such that their resistance to distortion increases immensely with the increasing pressure. The several parts, further, are so proportioned and constructed that the distortable buffering elements complete their absorbing and movement-limiting action before the springs close completely upon themselves, thus avoiding any final shock or jar such as might result from contact of metal on metall It will be understood that the total bodily movement of the loom is extremely limited, being generally in the order of but a fraction of an inch, approximately to of an inch in the average case. The described adjustments enable the action of the springs to be nicely regulated and balanced properly to distribute the absorbing and buffering action among the several units to suit the individual requirements and conditions for any given loom.

It will thus be seen that in accordance with my invention I have provided in a loom struc ture novel means designed and operating with peculiar reference to and operative combination with the various loom motions, and with special relation to the stresses and strains which are typical of a loom. As a result the speed of a given l'oom can be substantially increased without additional or objectionable vibration, in cases where increased speed is an important ob jective. In other cases the normal or existing speeds may be maintained but with a substantial reduction in the breakage of parts and cor responding saving in overhead.

My invention is not limited to the particular embodiment thereof illustrated and described herein, and I set forth its scope in my following claims.

I claim:

1. In a machine such as apower loom having a supporting frame subject in the operation of the machine to unbalanced forces having horizontal fore-and-aft and lateral components and also vertical components, the combination with the machine frame of stationary track elements symmetrically disposed at the base of said frame and extending in the direction from front to rear of the machine, slide plates on the base of the machine frame adjacent each track element and having guide formations cooperating with said elements, including means preventing relative vertical movement between the track elements and slide plates, whereby the machine frame may move bodily on said track elements solely in a guided straight-line forward and back direction, and shock-absorbing and buffering mechanism operatively interposed between the corresponding track elements and slide plates thereby to control and limit said movement and to absorb and dissipate the energy producing the same and which in the absence of said permitted movement causes objectionable wracking and vibration of the machine as a whole.

2. In a machine such as a power loom having supporting side frames subject in the operation of the machine to unbalanced forces having horizontal fore-and-aft and lateral components and also vertical components, each side frame having an underlying stationary base plate formed with a track paralleling its side frame, shoes fixed on the side frames and slidably received by the base plates for guided movement along the tracks thereof, abutment formations projecting laterally of the side frames in opposed paired relation on the shoes and base plates respectively, and 7 track members for each side frame and cooperating shoes fixed on the side frames so as to provide for guided movement of the frame as a whole in the forward and back direction, said track members comprising base portions adapted to be secured to the flooring and having horizontal and lateral guide surfaces cooperating with like-disposed surfaces on the shoes, and means to limit and control the movement of the frames and shoes relative to the track members, each shoe and its receiving track member having a lubricant reservoir and passages communicating between the reservoir and said cooperating guide surfaces continuously to supply the latter with lubricant.

4. Mounting means for a power loom to reduce the shock and vibration effects thereof, said means comprising shoes adapted to be fixed at the base of a loom frame, symmetrically at both sides, stationary track elements disposable in parallelism with the loom sides and slidably mounting said shoes, opposed abutments for each shoe and its corresponding track element, and coil springs operatively positioned between the corresponding abutments of the shoes and track elements so as to be compressed by approach of the shoe abutment toward that of its track element during bodily movement of the loom to be supported.

5. Mounting means for a powerloom to reduce the shock and vibration effects thereof said tween the abutments of each pair so as to be compressed by approach of the shoe abutment toward that of its track element, and distortabie buffer means within said springs and cooperable with said abutments to limit the spring compression and further resist the approach 01 the shoe and track abutments during bodily movement of the loom to be supported.

6. Mounting means for a power loom to reduce the shock and vibration effects thereof, said means comprising shoes adapted to be fixed at the base of a loom frame, symmetrically at both sides, stationary track elements disposable in parallelism with the loom sides and slidably mounting said shoes, interlocking guide means confining the movement of the shoes relative to the track elements to a rectilinear horizontal movement only, pairs of opposed abutments, one on each shoe and the other on the corresponding track element, and resilient shock-absorbing buffer means operatively interposed between said abutments of each pair to control the movement of the shoe abutment toward that of its track element during bodily movement of the loom to be supported.

, NELSON A. BATCHELDER. 

